Fruit-evaporator



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S.E.SPR0UT.

FRUIT EVAPORATOR. No. 418,079. Patented 1390.24, 1.889. E; 2* fw- M @5555- M/17@ @y f (No Model.)

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FRUIT EVAPORATOR.

Patented Dec.,24, l889.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL E. SPROUT, OF MUN OY, PENNSYLVANIA.

FRU IT-EVAPO RATO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 418,079, dated December 24, 1889.

Application flied May 9,1888. sentira. 273,333. (Nomura) To @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL E. SPROUT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Muncy, in the county of Lycoming and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fruit-Evaporators; and

I do hereby declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable. others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to various new and useful improvements in fruit driers or evaporators, and also to the method of heating the air within the same and of maintaining a rapid circulation of the air; and it is the object of my invention to provide a compact, durable, simple, and extremely efficient evaporator, one capable of being transported and easily erected, one in which the heat may be economically maintained with but little attention on the part of the operator, and one in which the temperature may be regulated with certainty.

The principal novelties of my invention consist of a tower or trunk located within a suitable building and projecting above the roof of the same, and within which endless chains carrying` trays containingfthe fruit to be evaporated are made to revolve around suitable pulley-wheels located near the top and bottom ot' the tower. or trunk, a hollow semi-partition inside of the tower, steam-radiating pipes arranged vertically inside of the tower, whether inside of said partition or otherwise, and a boiler or other source of steam-supply arranged adjacent to the tower or trunk and supplying steam to the radiating-pipes, as well as in other but less important minor details of construction, all as will be more fully hereinafter described and claimed.

In order that others may understand my invention, I will now describe it, attention being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein similar letters have reference to identical parts in the several views, and in which- Figure l is a vertical sectional view of the entire apparatus; Fig. 2, an elevation of the same with one side removed; Fig. 3, a side section showingl the radiating'pipes as being arranged on the side of the tower.

A represents the tower or trunk, made of wood or any other suitable material, suitably braced and strengthened, and of a rectangular form, as shown, its greatest dimension being its height vertically from top to bottom. This tower or trunk is adapted to iirlnly rest on the floor B of a building, and is provided at its bottom with a large opening d, the floor B being provided with a corresponding opening h. The top C of the tower is made preferably peaked, and situated upon and firmly secured to this top is a ventilator C', of any suitable construction, it being preferable, though not essential, to provide the same with a vane d, by means of `which the opening in the side of the ventilator, which should be of the rotating variety, may be kept always away from the direct path of external air-currents, thereby preventing such air-currents from entering the interior of the tower or trunk.

At a point somewhat above the lower end c of the tower, and with its upper portionextending from one wall of the tower to the other wall directly opposite, is a partition D, made preferably pointed at its lower end,

`and vertically above this partition D, and

situated at a point near the upper end of the tower, is anotherA partition E, and with its lower portion also extending from one side wall of the tower to the other wall directly opposite, and thereby firmly retaining its position. Connecting these two partitions, and thereby serving to brace the same securely, are the rods e e, made preferably of wood, though it will be apparent that other materials might be advantageously substituted. Arranged at suitable intervals along these braces e et, and made preferably of wood, are the deflecting-plates ff, inclining somewhat upwardly and extending inwardly to the radiatingpipes, to be described hereinafter.

Directly above the partition E, and keyed securely on suitable short axles g g, passing through the walls of the tower and entering the journal-boxes h h', are the pulley-wheels F F, made preferably of metal, and of such a construction to be as light as possible and still be consistent with the strength required. Passing through the partition D and the side walls of the tower is an axle t', and keyed or otherwise fastened to this axle are the pul- IOO the grooves in the circumference of the pulley-wheels F'F G G are the endless chains I I,

madeof metal and of any well-known construction. At regular intervals on each chain are securely fastened the pins jjjj j, the position of each corresponding` exactly on both chains, and these pins pass entirely through theside brace k 7c of each tray-hanger .I J nearthe topv thereof, so that each hanger is supported pendulum-like from one pin on each chain. The side braces 7c 7c of each hanger are securely connected both at the top and bottom by means of connecting-braces la lo', and securely fastened at regular intervals on each side brace k 7c are the slides k2 k2, for holding the perforated trays containing the fruit to be evaporated. It will now be seen that by turning the crank H the pinion H2 will transmit its motion to the large gear-wheel H, which will revolve slowly, turning the axlet' and the pulley-wheels G Gwith it. The friction of the chains I I on these pulley-wheels will be sutiicient to carry them around-with the motion of the periphery of the wheels, and-consequently the chains and tray-hangers thereon will be carried up and over the pulley-wheels F F, passing up lone side of the partitions D and E and down the other.

Directlyl beneath the floor B is situated a boiler of any well-known construction, it being safer as well as more economical to use one of the low-pressure type, and in order that the evaporator may be operated with as little labor as possible this boiler should preferably be one of the self-feeding variety. Passingup from this boiler through the iioor B and entering the tower A at a point directly above the partition D and between the two rows of tray-hangers is a steamconducting pipe Z; and in orderl that the supply of steam passing through this pipe, and consequently the temperature of the evaporating columns of air, may be regulated, a globe or other suitable valve Z is interposed in said pipe near t-he point of its entrance into the tower. The pipe Z, after passing into the tower A, enters the hollow metallic drum m, held securely in position directly above the partition D and between the connectingrods e e, and from which the radiating-pipes m extend. These pipes m are also located between the braces e e and extend vertically upward to a point near the partition E, as shown, and-then out at right angles to the original course, and then at right angles thereto and parallel with the original course, in which latter direction they extend downward to and enter the drum n, secured in line with the drum m and fastened in a similar manner. Extending out from the drum n and passing through the wall of the tower is another pipe n', which continues vertically downward, passes through the floor B, and enters the radiators o o', made preferably of cast-iron and communicating with each other. These radiators 0 o are situated directly beneath the opening b in the floor B, and are connected to the boiler by means of the pipe p, so that there will be, as shown in the drawings, a complete uninterrupted circulation through the pipe l, drum m, radi` ating-pipes m', drum n, pipe n, radiators o o', and pipe p, beginning and endingat the boiler. The position-of these conducting and radiating pipes, drums, and radiators may be changed and varied in many ways (for instance, as in the construction illustrated in Fig. 4, in which the radiating-pipes'are s-hown as being arranged on the sides of the tower) without departingfrom the spirit of my invention, which consists, essentially, in arran ging the radiating-pipes vertically in the interior of thel tower.

In order that the circulation of air through the tower may be sufficiently rapid, it might be advisable, though not absolutely necessary, to station a fan K at the lower end thereof, which fan may be driven by any suitable means. preferably by gearing connected with the crank H.

The pulley-wheels G G F F may be dispensed with andsprocket-wheels substituted, care being taken, however, to have the proj ections-011 the sprocket-wheelsof such a shape and of such a distance apart as will exactly coincide with the links of the endless chain I I.

Instead of using the crank N', the gearwheel H might be operated by a small lowpressure engine supplied with steam from the boiler and situated at any convenient point on or near the tower. Such an engine would not addmuch to the preliminary expense, and would by its use render the device practically automatic. v

By using the short axles g g, and thereby dispensing with a continuous one for the wheels F F, I effectively prevent any liability of the tray-hangers becoming engaged with such an axle and upsetting, as frequently happens in some ofthe driers now used in which revolving trays are employed, and, further, I am enabled to use much longer and more commodious tray-hangers, when compared with the size of the wheels F F, than are at present used.

The mode of operation of my device is as follows: The trays are spread evenly with layers of fruit to be evaporated and are inserted in the tray-hangersA Steam is now generated in the boiler and circulates through the pipes-and radiators, as before described, the radiators o o heating all vthe air around them, which, as well known, willrise and pass up through the tower on each side of the parroo IIC

418,079 g g e titions, and the radiating-pipes m fm. will heat the surrounding air, which, being reiiected by the plates f f, will also pass up through ascending by the deflected hot air from the radiatingpipes, and the other side of the trays being heated while descending in a similar manner, the moisture from the fruit being first driven oft by the hot air from the radiators 0 o 'when the trays are near the lower end of the tower. This operation is maintained until the fruit is thoroughly evaporated, which can be determined by any one acquainted with the business.

It is evident that the same arrangement of vertical pipes may be used with hot air or hot water, but to less advantage.

I do not wish to be coniined to the evaporation of fruit only, because my device is equally applicable to the evaporation of other products besides frr1it--fo1i11stance, corn, &c.

Having-now described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is- A fruit-evaporator consisting of a vertical tower having a cowl C at its upper end and with an opening a at its lower end, wheels G G, mounted within said tower near its lower portion7 gear-wheels H H and crank H for rotating said wheels G G, wheels F F, mounted on separate axles within the tower, near its upper end, tray-hangers J J, pivoted to iiexible bands or chains passing over the peripheries of said wheels G G and F F, partitions E and D within the tower, drums m n directly above the partition D, radiating-pipes between said partitions and connecting the two drums n and m, deiiectingplates f f on each side of said radiating-pipes, connectingpipe n', connecting the drum n with a pair of radiators 0 o beneath the opening a, aboiler connecting with said radiators and with the drum m, and a rotary fan K directly above the opening ct, all combined and arranged substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL E. SPROU'I.

Witnesses:

JAS. H. RooKER, H. N. LAIRD. 

